Independent book stores can’t even buy new releases for the low prices that Target, Walmart, and Amazon are offering them to the public — which has led to rationing in order to keep the independents from buying and reselling the books at a profit.

Walmart will offer 10 to 50 percent discounts on 16,000 items to boost sales during the lucrative back-to-school season. The cuts are part of Walmart’s broader plan to abandon its pursuit of the upscale market, which “confused customers,” and return to its core business of undercutting competition and instigating price wars.

The consumer-friendly price war between Netflix and Blockbuster rages on this week as Netflix cuts the price of its two most popular subscription plans by $1. The cost of Netflix’s 3-DVD plan will drop to $16.99, while the 1-DVD plan will fall to $8.99. The price drops will make Netflix plans $1 cheaper than comparable Blockbuster plans featuring Total Access. Both retailers slashed the price of their 2-DVD options last month to $13.99. The latest move from Netflix is meant to drain much-needed cash from Blockbuster. From the Chicago Tribune:

Stepping up its attack on Netflix also has been hurting Blockbuster, which has had to spend more heavily on DVDs to ensure sure its stores have enough discs to keep up with the additional demand from its roughly 3 million online subscribers. The company lost $49 million in the first quarter.

American Airlines will answer every New Yorkers prayers by extending service to Atlanta, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Louisville, Raleigh-Durham and Cincinnati. Crain’s thinks service to these bastions of municipal greatness will be enough to start “a battle for the New York area’s airports.” That can only mean one thing: price war!

The airline has been quietly expanding its New York service over the past two years, adding five new markets last year and four new cities in 2004. It’s most recent push is to grab business travelers, offering new lie-flat service on international business class flights out of New York starting in May. But being the “strong, silent type” only gets an airline so far.

We never though of American as either strong or silent. More like that giant asthmatic neighbor rifling through their garage shouting at the squirrels.

On the day after Thanksgiving, Mr. Sollitto, the chairman and chief executive of Syntax-Brillian, had 32-inch Olevia liquid-crystal display TV sets selling at Circuit City for $475, almost half its regular price.

“It’s simple. No more big sales on flat-panel TVs before Super Bowl,” said Cohen [industy analyst], adding that retailers realize that if they heavily promote these items again, they’ll have a very difficult time making their same-store sale numbers for January.